iMac hardware questions.

Can you turn off the screen only while the Mac runs or the speakers are being used?

Is there a little knob or something to physically lower or raise the speakers volume? On my HP monitor, there is a small 'ring' and a small part of it protrudes from under the screen. I can 'turn' the ;ring' left for raising volume and right for lowering volume.

How is the sound quality of the speakers, overall comparing them to other average monitor speakers.

People say that Win Xp runs better on a Mac than on a PC. Is this literally true? I am asking this because it does not sound logical. PCs and Macs now have the same processors and are almost exactly the same under the hood. So how can someone say that a Mac runs XP better than a PC. Or is ti just the extra speed boost that they notice with a clean XP install and better, faster hardware?

The posting of advertisements, profanity, or personal attacks is prohibited. Please refer to our CNET Forums policies for details. All submitted content is subject to our Terms of Use.

Track this discussion and email me when there are updates

If you're asking for technical help, please be sure to include all your system info, including operating system, model number, and any other specifics related to the problem. Also please exercise your best judgment when posting in the forums--revealing personal information such as your e-mail address, telephone number, and address is not recommended.

You are reporting the following post:iMac hardware questions.

This post has been flagged and will be reviewed by our staff. Thank you for helping us maintain CNET's great community.

Sorry, there was a problem flagging this post. Please try again now or at a later time.

If you believe this post is offensive or violates the CNET Forums' Usage policies, you can report it below (this will not automatically remove the post). Once reported, our moderators will be notified and the post will be reviewed.

1) Can you turn off the screen only while the Mac runs or the speakers are being used?Yes. By setting one or more of the corners to turn the screen off, or by setting the monitor sleep option timer appropriately, the screen can go off after a pre-set time. (The full-screen "Visualizer" feature that can optionally run while iTunes music is playing a song is pretty cool so maybe you want to leave the monitor on.)

2) Is there a little knob or something to physically lower or raise the speakers volume?On the iMac keyboard, there are two buttons near the top near the right... volume up and down.

3) Quality of the speakers is a bit subjective. For any speakers this size, you will not get chest thumping bass. I think their quality is comparable to - or maybe a little better than - the speakers in my HP/Compaq n6220 laptop. External speakers - with a subwoofer - would be an improvement in both cases. My son has a set of Klipsch or Altec-Lansing (I forget which) that were $50-$60 a couple of years ago and they are fine for his needs... which includes playing movies through his Mac to a projector to display on the wall and the fill a small living room with more than enough audio to have an acceptable experience for his college buddies... and still have volume "headroom" to get louder if needed...

4) I have not heard/read/experienced XP running any better/faster on a Mac... so I will not comment.

Relative to items 1-3, a visit to an authorized Apple Dealer (including an Apple store, if there is one nearby) would likely help... Item 4 would take a while to prove out... my opinion.